Wedge for tool handles



April 7, 1925.

J. F. BASHAM :WEDGE FOR TOOL HANDLES Filed Jan. 8. 1923 Patented Apr. 7, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,532,864! PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH F. BASE-1AM, OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA. ASSIGNOB, BYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO EVANSVILLE TOOL WORKS, INCORPORATED, OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA, A COR- PORATION OF INDIANA.

WEDGE FOR TOOL HANDLES.

Application filed January 8, 19533.

1 0 oil whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH F. BASHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to \Vedges for Tool .Handles, of which the following is a specification.

Tools such as hammers, hatchets axes, adzes, etc, have been held upon their handles respectively by means of wedges adapted to expand the wood of the handle into tight contact with the tool head at the eye. The present invention has for its principal object the provision of a simple and cheap form of wedge which will not only give the desired expansion to the wood but which will automatically lock it self therein, and which form of wedge has the advantage of being susceptible of further inward driving from time to time to restore the desired tight connection as the wood dries out.

The present improvements contemplate a. wedge having the inner end portion thereof formed with relatively high and relatively low areas on lines or ridges which are on lines in general diagonal to the longitudinal direction of the wedge. In a preferred construction such inner end portion is ogee. or with a compound twist therein, the sharp end of the wedge defining what is sometimes known as a line of grace. It is old in the art to provide wedges which are ogee, or having a compound bend, but heretofore such shape has extended throughout the wedge body from end to'end. The present invention distinguishes from the prior art in this respect in that only one end portion of the improved wedge has the substantially ogee shape, in a specific construction, and, roadly in having the diagonal recess construction constituting a lock for the wedge.

In the accompanying drawings, which form' a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side view of the preferred form of my improved wedge; 2 is a view of the outer end thereof; Flg. 3 is a view toward the inner end thereof; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of a hammer partly in section showing the application of the wedge; Fig. 5 is a sectional view as on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4:; Fig. 16 is a sectional Serial No. 611,288.

view as on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; Fi 7 is a sectional view as on the line 77 of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a view showing the end of the hammer of Fig. l; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a simple form of wedge construction old in the art; Fig. 10 is a side view and Fig. 11 is an end view of a modified form of wedge; Figs. 12 and 13 shown in side and end view respectively another modification; andvFig. 14 is a fragmentary end view showing how several smaller wedges may be employed.

In making my improved wedge of Fig. l we may assume first a wedge of ordinary construction such as shown in Fig. 9 made of iron. If we will next assume that the inner or substantially sharp end of the wedge be formed ogee, substantially as shown in Fig. 3, my improved form of wedge would be produced. In actual prac tice the wedge would ordinarily be forged between dies.

The maximum departure of my improved wedge 10 from the ordinary'wedge shown in Fig. 9 occurs at the inner or sharp edge, where the ogee or other special shape is most pronounced. The twist or slanting construction is less pronounced toward the outer end of the wedge as will be noted from a comparison of Figs. 6 and 3. At about the line 11 of Fig. 1. the twist or special formation substantially fades out,v and from the line 11 to the outer end of the wedge, the wedge has substantially flat sides. these sides diverging toward the outer end typically wedge fashion. From the line 11 to the inner or sharp edge of the wedge the thickness of the metal is gradually reduced, so that from the outer end to the inner endof the wedge any vertical crosssection would show a wedge-shaped structure.

In applying my new wedge it is simply' the cuttingedge would be preserved from end to: end' Ofl't'llfl wedge and there would be nothing but frictional contact to 11121111:

. tain the wedge in place. It has been clearly demonstrated that such frictional contact alone is not sufficient to hold such handleholding wedges in position under concitions of use. According to these improvements, however, the ogee path definedby the cutting edge is destroyed in large part by the following-after portions of the wedge, and more and 111010 S0 as the wedge is driven home, except, of course, for the path of cleavage ator. close to the sharp end. The flat sides diverging outward from the linexll' of Fig. 1 and the diverging walls of.- the' wedge merging into the fiat sides there force the wood totalte' on other lines and shapes whereit contacts the wedge with the resultthat the wood is strongly crowded into contact with the wedge at all. points on the sides thereof, and; since the construction given to the inner portion of the wedg produces relatively elevated and relatively depressedor concave-convex portions which are on linesdiagon'al with respect to the length of the wedge and its direction of movement into-thewood the wedge becomes locked in the wood and form diagonally disposed recesses in opposite sides o'f-the wedge, through compression of the wood in these diagonal pockets or recesses. It the wedge were free to be retracted with a twisting or turning motion it would come away as readily asordinary frictional contact would permit, but. since the outer portion' of the wedge firmly. holds itagainst the possibility o1 twisting motion, the wedge wouldhave to displacetightly bound wood fibers, as distinguished from. merely frictionally sliding away from them, be-

' fore it could come out.

According to the modification of Figs. 10 and-1 1. the free edge portion of the wedge 15 is given? several diagonally-arranged bends orelevations 16.with.intervening relatively low channels or areasl'T, the channels and ridges merging into the fiat surfaces" respectively onopposite sides of the outer: end. portion-of the wedge. According t-o'Figs. 12v and 13- the free end portion-of the WedgeQO is formed with a single masses.

diagonal depression 21 on one side and a rib-like" elevation 22 on. the other.

At any time that the handle dries out and the head becomes loose thereon the wedge 10, 15 or 20 may simplyhe drivenin farther to restore the lit, and with a renewed locking hold thereof uponthewood;

Reference should be had. to the appended claims to determine the scope of the i111- provements herein set forth.

V I claim:

1. A handlesholding wedge of: the character described comprising. a wedge bony stanti ally rectangular in side view,.relatively thick at its normally outer end, and substantially thinand sharp at its normally innerend, inner portions of the body having two v concave-convex formations spaced apart, oppositely directed in end view and diagonally directed in side view and merging; into each other on substantially ogee lines in end view, said formations providing on each side of the wedge a trough-like recess diagonally directed, substantially half the width of the wedge at its sharp edge and. gradually decreasing. in width and depth toward the thick end of the wedge, the relatively thick outerportions of the wedge being. free of said. concavoconvex formations.

i 2. A handle-holding wedge of the charac ter described comprising a wedge body substantially rectangular inside view-,-relatively thick at its normally outer end and substantially thin and sharp at its normally inner end, the inner sharp edge defining a continuousline=extending from one inner corner to the other. inner corner and having a plurality of lateral departures from a straight line,.i-nner portions of thervwedge body. being formed substantially concavoconveX at a plurality of places forming trough like recesses terminating in the sharp edge and extending normally out wardly and in diagonal directions in side view, thearrangement of parts being such that whenth'e wedge is normally driven into the'handle a single line of cleavage ot'tlie' wood occurs andrfibersiof the wood are compressed in said recesses;

JOSEPH. r; B'ASHAMT- 

